No rain on XC!

Kristin Schmolze & Cavaldi

We got lucky, very, that it didn't rain during the XC course today. Though we were all prepared with rain gear, rain suits, plastic bags etc. Cloudy, but it held off, partly because the event head honchos decided to skip the lunch break and go straight through... So, at the end of the day:

1st William Fox-Pitt (GBR) & Cool Mountain

2nd Kim Severson & Tipperary Liadhnan

3rd Becky Holder & Courageous Comet

4th Phillip Dutton & The Foreman

5th Phillip (again!) & Woodburn

It's Raining, it's pouring...

... and we are still working! Not raining just yet, but it will!

A few pics for you to enjoy:

Test Ride Thursday, Para-rider Robin Hart

Stanislas de Zuchowicz (FRA) & Quirinal de La Bastide

Phillip Dutton & The Foreman

Ollie again...

Michelle Gibson & Don Angelo (from the KY Cup Dressage)

Rolex Dressage Day 2

Hi Carrie, I hope you are enjoying my posts! I single you out as I *think* you might be the only one following the Rolex posts!!

So, second day dressage was some of the best dressage, with several scores in the 40s (remember in eventing, the lower the score in dressage the better!). It started out VERY chilly and wet. Ugh, had to break out the camera rain gear! But the day brightened and warmed after lunch time. William Fox-Pitt had a very nice test, but was a bit stiff I thought... Either way, he's leading, with Allison Springer & Arthur in second and Karen & Mandiba in third. Ollie Townend and Ashdale Master Cruiser are in sixth... He may complete an Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing if he wins here (He won the last Burghley and Badminton, which are four star events in event, so if he wins Rolex KY 4 star, he'll complete the grand slam)...

So here are some pictures for you of the current top horses, except for those you saw yesterday...

William Fox-Pitt (GBR) & Cool Mountain

Allison Springer & Arthur (some of the unlucky ones who got rained on!)

Kim Severson & Tipperary Liadhnan

Oliver Townend (GBR) & Ashdale Cruise Master

And one of my favorites, love the uniform!!!!, Capt. Geoff Curran (IRE) & The Jump Jet

And from last nights Kentucky Cup Dressage....

Winners Tina Konyot & Calecto V

Rolex Dressage Day 1

Though the morning started out chilly, the afternoon warmed up a bit and the sun started to peek out a bit. Placings so far:

1st Karen & Mandiba

2nd Becky & Comet (Yeah for the ex-racehorses!)

3rd Phillip & The Foreman

4th Diana Burnett & Manny

5th Jennifer Wooten-DaFoe & The Good Witch

For the rest of the placings, go to http://www.rk3de.org/leaderboard.php

A few pics for your viewing pleasure:

Karen & Mandiba

Becky & Comet

Phillip & The Foreman

Diana Burnett (CAN) & Manny

Jennifer & The Good Witch

And this next pic is of Lauren Kieffer & Snooze Alarm, who are in 17th place at the moment. I add them here because Snooze is an Anglo-Arab!!! Very unusual for this sport!

Special Request: Rolex KY 3 Day Event Special Coverage

My friend Carrie asked that I post about my time here in KY helping my friend Tony Trollope (one of his many websites!) photograph the Rolex KY 3 Day Event... So, here I post! I have just arrived and am relaxing abit at Tony's girlfriend's (Vanessa) house... so far, the only animal action I have seen is gettin' some lovin' from one of the cats... He keeps rubbing on and knocking out the power cord. Very affectionate.

Look, just like home! Cat hair on the clothing!

More tomorrow, after first day of eventing dressage...

New summer, new grant!!

I was thrilled to learn I received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to travel to Oaxaca, Mexico this summer for five weeks! The sponsoring university is the University of Oregon, and the logistics of this grant are pretty different than the Fulbright-Hays to Morocco last summer, but in a good way I think. For one thing, this is FULLY funded :-), I don't have to pay for this one! Woot!

There are 30 teachers in this group, from all over the US, yet most of us seem to teach the Visual Arts or Spanish, but there are other subjects represented. More information about the grant, schedule, day trips etc. can be seen here:

http://whp.uoregon.edu/mesoinstitute/

We'll be studying and researching Architecture, Film, Visual Arts, and Ethnohistory and Culture.

I will be arriving a week early to brush up on my very rusty Spanish at this language school:

http://www.vinigulaza.com/index.htm

Classes are only in the AM, so will have lots of time in the afternoon to get a feel for the city etc. before others arrive. Though I do know a few of those in the group will also get to Oaxaca abit early too, so I hope to meet up with them.

I have already put a deposit on an adorable apartment for my stay there:

http://casitacamila.com/

I already got my airfare (Props to Continental for having a straight 2 1/2 hour flight to Oaxaca!), which was cheaper than my upcoming flight to Lexington, Kentucky! Go figure...

And, for those of you concerned about my safety (ahem, Mom... G-pa, G-ma!), Oaxaca is very far south in Mexico (see map below), so no real worries or concerns about the border drug wars etc. that are happening across the border.